Confused about how many GCSEs are required - can someone explain please?

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Dd has just started year 10. I have to confess that even though I am very involved in her education, I am still a bit confused about GCSEs - in particular, about why some people do less and some more, and why it matters...

My excuse is that I didn’t go to school in the U.K. - it was a very different system and everyone did the same number of subjects.

There seems to be a lot of variation. At my dd’s school everyone does 10, although it is possible to do one extra one. On another thread, someone mentioned a school where everyone does 7. What difference does it make?

I did 13 it just depends on the school. Doesn't really matter so long as they get Maths and English above a C and at least 5 Pass grades.

I did 13 it just depends on the school.

I'm guessing this was not since the 9-1 GCSEs were brought in? They have a lot more content than the old style ones. I doubt anyone does 13 these days.

How long ago did you take GCSEs @CorianderLord?

The amount of content has changed a lot in the last few years, and they are harder now.

@clary I suppose that is one advantage of ds having to do 10/11! They allow three options which are pretty much free choices out of the humanities, art, music, PE, DT, languages, business etc. They also have RS and Computing as compulsory subjects. My ds is really enjoying his three options of History, Business and Music and these are the subjects he'd probably consider for A Level, along with maybe RS.

[quote crazycrofter]@titchy, universities don't ask for eight or even five GCSEs, just Cs in Maths and English (and sometimes Science depending on the course).[/quote]
I'm very familiar with what universities ask for.

A kid that only does 5 GCSEs is only studying about half the expected load. Apart from being effectively part time, their curriculum is incredibly narrow, and the leap to A level study will be much much bigger than it would have been if they were used to the intensity required to take the standard number of GCSEs.

Unis (mostly, not all) won't care, and neither will sixth forms, but in the absence of specific circumstances that make taking more than 5 difficult, it does the student no favours whatsoever to limit them to five.

@RedskyAtnight it was 2011 so just before the new scheme. Included triple science and mandatory sport, citizenship, humanities and a language plus early maths GCSE.

So they were split between year 9 and 11. Might not be as much as now but god it was a slog.

Apologies if I'm outdated, I thought it would be relevant as I entered the workforce in 2017 and these were the only GCSE related requirements for my grad role.

The standard number that everyone is expected to do is 8. Schools are judged on the progress of their pupils in their best 8 GCSE's. However most schools would offer at least 9 subjects as this gives a bit of leeway if something goes badly wrong in one subject and to give extra depth/chance to study the arts or triple science etc.

High ability students may be offered the chance to study a 10th subject at some schools. It used to be very common for certain schools to offer 11/12 but that was totally unecessary, is not sustainable with the increased content of the new GCSE's and it appeared to value quantity over quality.

Universities tend to favour high grades in less subjects than low grades in more subjects.

Most colleges tend to ask for 5 subjects with the more selective requiring 6-8. Some of hte top universities have a scoring system where they give points for grades for your best 6-8 subjects. But that is usually only for ultra competitive subjects such as Medicine or for Oxbridge. At most other universities they are happy with 5 good grades and look more at your A levels.

@titchy it’s true that most schools wouldn’t allow you to do 5 but that’s not the same as saying you won’t be able to enter uni with only 5. There are plenty of home educated students who only do 5 and manage to go on to A Levels/BTEC/uni. Also young people who’ve been ill during their GCSE years.

Obviously schools do at least 8 as they have to fill a full timetable! But it’s important not to perpetuate the myth that unis require 8. In fact my friend’s daughter just completed sixth form very successfully and has a deferred place for next year. I think she has five GCSEs at grades B/C (taken over two years) although she may only have 4. It wasn’t an issue.

Home educated students also don’t seem to struggle with the intensity of A Levels despite not having done 10 GCSEs in one go at age 16 so I think that argument is overrated. Unfortunately we have an education system that overloads our 14-16 year olds and leaves them little room for anything else. I wish there was more balance personally!

My own son took 8 but only passed 5. However the subject he is hoping to study at university he got an 8 in and he has now started a btec in that subject where he is surpassing all expectations.

So he is likely to have a wide range of good universitities he can apply to.

@crazycrofter I agree 100%. Schools have a duty to provide min 25hrs of learning a week over 39 weeks. They are also effected by progress 8.
Home-schooled kids normally have very busy academic lives in the areas they find enjoyable so they make a lot of academic progress that way naturally. They normally just do the exams they absolutely need for the next step. This is no reflection of their intelligence or ability which is why a lot of them still excel at A Levels and beyond.
However, I think if a child that attends school 25hrs a week struggles so much that they were asked to do 5 GCSE's, than A Levels are probably not for them. Again, this does not discount Uni.
Teachers are only required to have Maths, Eng and (for primary) Science GCSE.
Homeschooled families have to be very well researched in the UK education system and I think this gives those kids the benefit of excellent careers education. Unlike the ones in mainstream school.

There are plenty of home educated students who only do 5 and manage to go on to A Levels/BTEC/uni. Also young people who’ve been ill during their GCSE years.

Which is exactly why I said 'in the absence of specific circumstances'....

But Science can be single, double or triple, depending on the ability of the student. And English is split into Language and Literature.

Single Science GCSE has been discontinued for the new 9-1 qualifications. So Combined science which is equivalent to 2 GCSEs is now the minimum that can be taken in state schools.

For state school pupils the recommended number of GCSEs needed for a balanced eduation is 8.

@titchy, progress 8 is actually based upon 8 GCSEs, and with maths and English double weighted, (if you do English Lan and Lit) the total score is out of 10. So most schools will require 8 GCSEs as a minimum unless there are extenuating circumstances.

English and maths, then 3 Ebac subjects, then 3 other subjects which can include any extra Ebac subjects and English Lit.

[quote MillicentMartha]@titchy, progress 8 is actually based upon 8 GCSEs, and with maths and English double weighted, (if you do English Lan and Lit) the total score is out of 10. So most schools will require 8 GCSEs as a minimum unless there are extenuating circumstances.[/quote]
Which is exactly what I said in my post at 9.35

Ah, sorry, 'best 6 plus English and maths.' I misread your earlier post.[{blush]